C (Fair) - In the trade-off between performance and risk, the stock has a track record which is about average. It is neither significantly better nor significantly worse than most other stocks. With some funds in this category, the total return may be better than average, but this can be misleading since the higher return was achieved with higher than average risk. With other funds, the risk may be lower than average, but the returns are also lower. In short, based on recent history, there is no particular advantage to investing in this fund.
A (Excellent) - The stock has an excellent track record for maximizing performance while minimizing risk, thus delivering the best possible combination of total return on investment and reduced volatility. It has made the most of the recent economic environment to maximize risk-adjusted returns compared to other stocks. While past performance is just an indication -- not a guarantee -- we believe this fund is among the most likely to deliver superior performance relative to risk in the future as well.
The solution to both is investing in stock index funds and ETFs. While mutual funds might require a $1,000 minimum or more, index fund minimums tend to be lower (and ETFs are purchased for a share price that could be lower still). Two brokers, Fidelity and Charles Schwab, offer index funds with no minimum at all. Index funds also cure the diversification issue because they hold many different stocks within a single fund.

Understand the risks associated with the stocks you are investing in. In the company’s 10-K, there is an extensive section that talks about the company’s risks. You also need to understand your own tolerance for risk. If you invest in a stock that is highly volatile and you are not comfortable with market fluctuation, owning the investment will make you anxious and more likely to sell when it does not make sense strategically.

There are plenty of interesting and simple online tools which can be used to improve your trading results, such as the Relative Strength Index (RSI). This is just one example from among dozens of possible technical analysis (TA) options, and you will need to discover and decide which ones work best for you. You may need to paper trade to figure out the best TA tools for you and your strategy. Besides these sorts of technical analysis indicators, there are a few "tried and true" rules:

A robo-advisor offers the benefits of stock investing, but doesn't require its owner to do the legwork required to pick individual investments. Robo-advisor services provide complete investment management: These companies will ask you about your investing goals during the onboarding process and then build you a portfolio designed to achieve those aims.
When investing in the stock market, you have to think long term and avoid the temptation to check your portfolio several times per day. All this will do is waste your time, stress you out, and increase the odds that you will make a big mistake and sell at the wrong time. Plan to set up automatic contributions to your investment so you can buy more investments no matter where you are.
Then what? You might be new to investment but already wealthy, what do the super rich do to diversify? They use real estate in New York, London and the Cote d'Azure as a reserve currency. They change their country of residence to a tax haven, pursue naturalization through one of the EU citizenship by investment countries and then buy a sports franchise. Sorry, the sports franchise isn't actually an investment...
One of the most common mistakes in stock market investing is trying to time the market. Time the market, or “market timing,” means trying to figure out the best time to get in the market, or invest. It also means the best time to get out of the market, or sell. It’s not easy to be right on both ends. It can be unsettling to experience market volatility, so that’s why it’s important to understand the difference between savings (which are more stable) and investments (which can be more volatile). It’s the time in the market that is more important, not necessarily timing the market.

6. Find a good investment service to subscribe to. Many of the suggestions above can now be covered by joining just one stock market service. These services now aim to pick stocks, offer trading and portfolio management software and educational services too. If things go well, then by investing in the stock market picks, the service can be paid for with profits.

Dollar-cost average: This sounds complicated, but it’s not. Dollar-cost averaging means investing a set amount of money at regular intervals, such as once per week or month. That set amount buys more shares when the stock price goes down and fewer shares when it rises, but overall, it evens out the average price you pay. Some online brokerage firms let investors set up an automated investing schedule.